Kitchen Hints of the Day!

In a Pickle about Pickling........


* Produce must be fresh when pickled. Avoid using waxed supermarket produce.

* Scrub food well. Be sure to remove and discard 1/4–inch slice from the blossom end of fresh cucumbers. Blossoms may contain an enzyme that causes excessive softening of pickles.

*  Don't take shortcuts. The jar and lid sterilization process, boiling water timing, and amount of vinegar used are all critical components to crafting perfect pickles.

* Cucumbers go bad quickly, particularly at room temperature.

* Always use pickling salt, not table salt. Table salt contains iodine, a chemical that can darken pickles. Anticaking agents in table salt can cause cloudiness in your brine.

Pickled Dill Carrots

Came across this recipe in the current issue of the Food Network Magazine, Pickled Dill Carrots. It sounded and looked great so today I made some for myself. They have to refrigerated for at least 24 hours so I'll let you know how they taste sometime tomorrow. I substituted the Medium Carrots, and slicing them, with Mini Carrots and also I used Splenda Sugar instead of the regular Sugar. I left the recipe along with a web link to the Food Network web site.




Pickled Dill Carrots

Ingredients
7 medium carrots (about 1 1/4 pounds), sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 sprigs dill
3/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
Kosher salt
1 teaspoon dill seeds
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
Coarsely ground pepper


Directions
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the carrots and cook until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Pack the carrots and dill sprigs into a 1-quart jar.

Make the brine: Combine the vinegar, 3/4 cup water, the sugar, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, the dill seeds, caraway seeds and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.

Pour the hot brine into the jar and let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 1 week.


Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/pickled-dill-carrots-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Pickling

"Pickling", also known as "brining" or "corning", is the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar (acetic acid). The resulting food is called a pickle. This procedure gives the food a salty or sour taste. In South Asia, edible oils are used as the pickling medium with vinegar.


Another distinguishing characteristic is a pH less than 4.6, which is sufficient to kill most bacteria. Pickling

Cucumbers gathered for pickling.

can preserve perishable foods for months. Antimicrobial herbs and spices, such as mustard seed, garlic, cinnamon or cloves, are often added. If the food contains sufficient moisture, a pickling brine may be produced simply by adding dry salt. For example, sauerkraut and Korean kimchi are produced by salting the vegetables to draw out excess water. Natural fermentation at room temperature, by lactic acid bacteria, produces the required acidity. Other pickles are made by placing vegetables in vinegar. Unlike the canning process, pickling (which includes fermentation) does not require that the food be completely sterile before it is sealed. The acidity or salinity of the solution, the temperature of fermentation, and the exclusion of oxygen determine which microorganisms dominate, and determine the flavor of the end product.
When both salt concentration and temperature are low, Leuconostoc mesenteroides dominates, producing a mix of acids, alcohol, and aroma compounds. At higher temperatures Lactobacillus plantarum dominates, which produces primarily lactic acid. Many pickles start with Leuconostoc, and change to Lactobacillus with higher acidity.



In the United States and Canada, pickled cucumbers (most often referred to simply as "pickles" in Canada and the United States), olives, and sauerkraut are most popular, although pickles popular in other nations are also available. Giardiniera, a mixture of pickled peppers, celery and olives, is a popular condiment in Chicago and other cities with large Italian-American populations, and is often consumed with Italian beef sandwiches. Pickled eggs are common in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Pickled herring is available in the Upper Midwest. Pennsylvania Dutch Country has a strong tradition of pickled foods, including chow-chow and red beet eggs. In the Southern United States, pickled okra and watermelon rind are popular, as are deep-fried pickles and pickled pig's feet, chicken eggs, quail eggs and pickled sausage. In Mexico, chili peppers, particularly of the Jalapeño and serrano varieties, pickled with onions, carrots and herbs form common condiments. Various pickled vegetables, fish, or eggs may make a side dish to a Canadian lunch or dinner. It has become quite trendy across Canada to pickle vegetables at home in Bernardin mason jars.



In chemical pickling, the jar and lid are first boiled in order to sterilize them. The fruits or vegetables to be pickled are then added to the jar along with either brine or vinegar or both, as well as spices, and are then allowed to ferment until the desired taste is obtained.
The food can be pre-soaked in brine before transfering to vinegar. This reduces the water content of the food which would otherwise dilute the vinegar. This method is particularly useful for fruit and vegetables with a high natural water content.
In commercial pickling, a preservative like sodium benzoate or EDTA may also be added to enhance shelf life. In fermentation pickling, the food itself produces the preservation agent, typically by a process that produces lactic acid.
Alum was once used as a preservative in pickling and is still approved as a food additive by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but alum in repeated small doses can cause brain damage.

Pickled Beets

Pickled Beets

I'm not a fan of Beets but I thought I would pass along my Mom's recipe, which came from my Grandmother, for Pickled Beets. My Mom loves Pickled Beets but I never aquired the taste for them. Anyway here's her recipe.

Ingredients;

4 - 5 bunches of Beets, the bunches will contain anywhere from 4 - 5 Beets. This amount, depending on the size of the Beets, will make 2 - 3 quarts. 

Quart Mason Jars and Lids

1 cup Water

2 cups Sugar

2 cups White Cider Viniger

1 - 1.5 oz. container of McCormick Pickling Spice

Directions:

(Preparing the Beets)

* Wash the Beets and trim the leaf steams, except 1" from the top of the Beet.

* Heat a large kettle of water to a full boil and add Beets.

* Boil Beets until they are tender, test by sticking a fork in them.

* Drain water from Beets and cut remaining stem and peel Beets. Cut Beets in half or thirds and set aside.

(Preparing the Pickling Mixture)

* In a large sauce pan add: 1 cup Water, 2 cups Sugar, 2 cups White Cider Viniger, and 1/2 of the 1.5 oz. container of McCormick Pickling Spice. Heat and bring to a boil. this amount will picle 2 - 3 quarts. The recipe as is can be doubled or tripled depending on how many quart you'll be doing.

* When mixture comes to a boil you can add your Beets to the mixture and reduce heat. Turn off heat and slowly pour the mix into the quart jars. Another way is to add your Beets to the jars and after the Pickling Mixture comes to boil add it to the jars that already contain your Beets. Either way when jars are full seal your quart jars and fasten lids.

*The 4 bunches of Beets my Mom had produced 2 quarts.*